Stranger Things
by The Clock Strikes Thirteen
Summary: Reina Jackson didn't know why she had the urge to climb the tree in the forest, she also didn't know why the branch randomly broke and sent her spiralling into the dark of unconsiouness. When she wakes up in the beginning of the fourth season of Merlin, she doesn't belive it, but stranger things have happend. Read to find out pairings!
1. Chapter 1: The Lost Soul

**_Chapter One: The Lost Soul_**

A lump forms in my throat as they lower his casket into the ground. Unshed tears sting in my eyes as I look to my mother, who is crying freely and clutching to her bible as if it is her lifeline and I decide not to express the pain that claws at my heart.

Mother has been an absolute mess since she heard of Father's death, I have to be strong, the both of us being miserable will destroy her, tip her off of the narrow cliff that she now walks on.

"You have my condolences, Reina." My aunt Maisy says when his coffin is covered and I wander amongst the tombstones, clad all in black and looking every inch like a lost soul. I nod grimly, not looking into her tear-stained eyes for fear of collapsing on the sleet-soaked ground and pouring all of my grief onto the snow.

"Thank you aunt Maisy, you've been such a help to Mother, the last week of growing… accustomed to his absence had been exhausting for her." I reply and the chubby woman with flat brown hair and listless eyes gives me a sympathetic smile. The sight of it makes me sick when I allow myself to briefly raise my eyes from the snow to her out of courtesy.

_I don't think I'll ever smile again, how does that daft woman do it?_ I think to myself. I don't return her pathetic attempt to cheer me up and instead I incline my head respectfully as Mother always taught me to do when discretely dismissing someone I do not wish to speak with.

It isn't that I dislike my aunt Maisy, but her Father, my Grandfather is still alive and well, she knows nothing of what I am going through and yet she pretends that she does. In all honesty, it doesn't make me like her ay less, it just makes me angry. I sigh quietly as another family member approaches me and I set my mouth in a straight, firm line, trying to make myself look as bland and uninteresting as possible so they will just leave me alone.

Humanity disgusts me right now, and I want nothing more than to run home and throw myself on my bed and to just cry until I can't anymore, but I don't, I patiently listen to my uncle Larry rattle on about how my father, William, will be missed.

"You be strong for my sister, Margret needs all the help she can get." He says in his annoying voice and I nod again. It suddenly strikes me how much nodding I've been doing lately, many have offered the generic 'be strong' when comforting me, which fails at doing so every time and I've nodded in response to that so often that I've lost count.

Uncle Larry walks away and I breathe a sigh of relief as I see no one else is approaching me. Aunt Deidre leads Mother away to the cars and the poor woman is still sobbing with everything she has left in her. It breaks my heart to see her so sad but there is nothing I can do. After she hand hung up on the nurse after the phone call came on The Day My Life Went to Hell, my Mother sat on our sofa and stared at the wall for three days, not moving and barley breathing.

When she finally moved, her joints were stiff and it hurt her to leave the house and make plans for Father's funeral, both physically and emotionally. She took me with her of course, and I didn't have it in me to complain. For the period of time when she was motionless, I had a constant headache from crying to hard and my stomach hurt constantly. I must've thrown up about sixteen times when they caught the man who ended my father's life and all he did when questioned was laugh.

I had been so mad at the horrid bastard, even going as far as to unsheathe a knife from its place in the drawer and run down to the police station and stick it in his back. These thoughts passed after an hour or so and I realized that killing his murderer would not only disappoint my Father, but do him no good either.

I turn my head and shake myself from my thoughts when I hear Uncle Harris calling for me. I look up the hill to where the car is parked and I begin to walk towards it, trudging up the side and getting snow in my boots and on the hem of my dress.

"Come on then Reina, get it the damn car." He says rudely and I brush it off. Uncle Harris's reaction to his brother's passing had been violent, especially given the nature of his death. He was more than willing to take the life of Father's murder than I was, and had they not sentenced the twisted man to death by electrocution, I doubt he would have snapped out of it as I did.

Even though the killer is gone from this earth, I am still afraid to sleep at night, even though I'm almost twenty-one and ready to finally move out. All plans of me ever having an education beyond high school vanished in a puff of smoke when Mother got the bill for Father's burial costs. The amount was staggering and it tapped my university fund dryer than the Sahara.

It was agony to accept that there was just no money for me to go to school, and I never participated in any activities that could get me a scholarship as I found them dull. I decided then to make the best of it and didn't even get all that upset in front of Mother when she told me; I just unpacked all of my belongings and screamed into a pillow for the rest of the night.

I don't know if anybody will ever understand just how badly I want to get out of Yorkshire, where the winters are bitter and the summers are so hot you'll feel your skin baking. It's uncomfortable for a pale girl like me, especially when I get sunburned, which is becoming more frequent as I spend more time outside. But now it seems that I'll be spending more and more time with nature, all of my friends have been accepted to colleges and universities to study various things, my best friend Angela is moving all the way to America to become a dancer at Julliard.

The drive back home is uneventful and I spend most of it staring out the window and watching the snowflakes fall. I roll down the window when we're almost there and stick my black-gloved hand out, a small part of me brightening as the beautiful ice crystals stock to the dark fabric and their little points are so much more defined.

"Oh, Reina, roll the window up, you'll catch your death!" Aunt Deidre scolds and I do as I'm told. The old bat is married to Uncle Harris and had always treated me about ten years younger than I actually am, a fact that annoys me to no end.

"Yes Aunt Deidre, my apologizes." I tell her, my voice heavy with sarcasm that she doesn't notice. She just smiles cruelly as I respond like a ten year-old and turns her gaze to our spindly old house at the top of a tall, snow-covered hill.

I've always hated Aunt Deidre even Father advised his brother not to marry her, but the dark-haired man claimed he loved her and did so anyway. The blood-sucking witch was ecstatic when Father was killed, as much of the little money we had left went to them. I still don't know what my Father was thinking when he wrote his will. He was a perfect mental health, why on earth would he go promising money that we don't have to filth that doesn't deserve it? I doubt I'll ever find out but I have no more time to try as we pull into our driveway.

I resist the urge to tear down the 'For Sale' sign on our front lawn and instead walk calmly to our front door, rage tearing out my organs as I think about how Mother has been driven to sell the house just to make up for Father's last blunder. I take out my keys from my pocket and open the door, glad to get out of the cold.

Uncle Harris sits my mother down on the sofa and Aunt Deidre goes into the kitchen to make some tea at his request. I don't want to stay down here and make mindless small-talk while my Mother wails in the background until it's time for me to go to bed, so I take the stairs to my room two at a time so quickly that they don't even notice I'm gone.

I throw open my door and close it softly, taking a flying leap and landing on my white bedspread, my copper hair fanning out around me as I let a few lone tears slip past my radar onto my cold-pinked cheeks. I lie there for some time and I can hear Uncle Harris arguing with Aunt Deidre about going upstairs to get me and having me make dinner.

"Dee, give the poor girl a rest! She's been hiding her pain all day she deserves some quiet!" He shouts and I am suddenly so upset that they're staying the night. If they keep fighting like this, not only will they upset mother but they'll piss me off in the process.

"She's not a girl anymore Harris! And we're guests, why should I make dinner!" Is Aunt Deidre's counter-claim and I roll my eyes.

_Stupid cow. _I think and I sit up, hugging my knees to my chest and grimacing when the telltale feeling of my itchy dress fabric chafes my thighs. I immediately stand and walk to my closet, muttering obscenities directed towards my Aunt for making me wear this under my breath. Hell, pants are better than this pile of scratchy material and I detest pants.

Although Aunt Maisy would not approve as it's 'disrespectful to Father's memory', I pull out my favourite white dress. It's shorter than what I'm wearing now, and far less uncomfortable. I slip it on and let the black mass fall to the floor, forgotten and I lay back down on my bed.

Usually when I'm depressed like this, my laptop would be beside me and I'd be watching one of the best TV shows on, Merlin, but I don't do this, instead I just lie on my back and close my eyes, allowing myself a brief moment of bliss as I close my eyes and allow a dreamless sleep to consume me.

I wake up to the symphony of my stomach growling and I look to my left, reading the time.

"Oh shit." I whisper as I see that it's already seven o'clock. I tear out of my room and down the stairs into our warm kitchen where my Aunt is sitting at the table, drinking tea out of our best china cups.

"Well, is somebody hungry?" She asks and I grimace at her tone.

"Yes." I reply coldly and her brown eyebrows that don't match her blonde hair that comes from a cheap hair dye bottle shoot up her fake-tan forehead.

"Well, that's too bad; it seems you just missed dinner." She says with a sickly sweet smile and I give her a glare, trudging past her to open the fridge, finding it empty.

I growl under my breath as her soft laughter fills the room.

"I'm so terribly sorry Rina, grief always give me quite an appetite." She says with a cheeky grin and I slam the door shut. Turning to her, my hand clenching into fists.

"My name is Reina, you've known it for the past twenty years and what grief? You can't even cry after all that plastic surgery done to your face!" I exclaim and she looks offended for a brief second before finishing her tea. She holds her arm out to the side and I'm about to ask her just what the hell she's doing when she drops our most expensive teacup onto the tile floor. I stifle a surprised yell and she looks at me, fake hurt in her eyes.

"Lord, Rina, why on earth did you break that?" She asks and my eyes widen.

"I did not! You did!" I reply and a horrible smirk curls up onto her red lipstick coated mouth.

"I wonder who your Mother will believe, the beloved Aunt who's been there for her, or her silent daughter who's as angry as Harris on the inside?" She asks and I narrow my eyes.

"Be quiet, you don't know what you're talking about!" I say and she leans against the table.

"I think I do. You're a Jackson; you've got all that awful rage in your heart, your father was the same way…" She trails off and I bite my lower lip to keep from screaming something rude back at her. Responding only makes it worse and I don't think Mother can handle a row right now.

"You're not a Jackson by blood and you've got all that festering, disgusting anger inside of you." I reply and she raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" The blonde asks in a somewhat frightening voice and I can't find it in me to shut up and go out for pizza instead of sitting here in a warm kitchen arguing with a rock.

"Your angry that Father didn't give you any more money that we don't have!" I say under my breath, deciding that takeout food from the little town down the road is the best idea. I move to leave and get my coat when the bitch delivers the final blow.

"Well your daddy was always cheap when it came to paying after I was done." My eyes widen and my hand falls from the door knob. I look back to her and I feel an uncontrollable desire to rip her eyes out.

"You filthy WHORE!" I screech, turning fully around and reaching to my left, picking up a salt shaker. I raise it above my head to throw it, and for a brief second, the awful woman actually looks scared.

I don't think I even realise how much I like seeing that on her ugly face as I bring my arm down, chucking it across the room and missing her by a millimeter. I hear footsteps coming down stairs and I know it's Uncle Harris but I don't move to apologize and clean up, instead I just grab another utensil and send it to join the salt shaker.

"What the bloody hell is going on here!" Uncle Harris exclaims, bursting through the door as I raise a frying pan to throw at her. Aunt Deidre is huddled in the corner, 'crying' her eyes out like I hit her with something and given my shitty aim; we both know that's impossible.

"Oh Harris darling, thank god!" she cries, standing up and flinging herself at him. "She's out of control! I offered to make her some dinner as I felt bad for trying to have her make it earlier and she started throwing things at me! It was horrible!" She says and I feel rage boil in my blood.

"Alright now honey, why don't you go lie down, it's been quite a day for both of you." Uncle Harris says and she nods, flashing him a smile, showing off her white teeth and carefully wiping the tears away from her blue eyes.

When she is gone, Uncle Harris sighs and I get ready for the argument of a lifetime. He walks over to the broom and dustpan, and begins to sweep up the broken glass.

"What is wrong with you?" He asks and I shrug, getting down on my knees to help pick up the larger pieces of glass.

"I don't know, but if someone called your Father an employer, you'd be angry too." I reply and he stops sweeping.

"Didn't Margret ever tell you not to lie?" He says in a dark voice and I roll my eyes.

_He won't believe a damn thing about his ghastly wife. _I tell myself and I huff out loud.

"But I'm not lying." I try, wanting more than anything for him to believe me. He doesn't respond and I finish cleaning up, standing and grabbing my coat that hangs on the door. "I'm going for a walk." I say and he just stares at the ground. I open the door and step out onto the crunchy, snow-covered grown, shivering and drawing my coat tighter around me. My dress may have sleeves, but it's positively bitter out today.

I look to the road to the town and shake my head. I'm not feeling hungry anymore, in fact, I'm honestly feeling a little sick after what Aunt Deidre said. I turn my head the other way and look to the forest. I'd only been there a handful of times in the summer, but I long to see it in December.

I'd wanted to go many times before, but I'd never been alone long enough to try. It strikes me then just how little time I've been allowed to myself. It's as if my daft relatives think that I enjoy their constant company and even though I love every single one (with the obvious exception of Deidre) with all my heart, I need space.

I trudge through the first layer of trees. Their trunks may look black and dead but life blossoms beneath, sleeping for the cold months until they are ready for spring. Everything is wet and cold but I can't help but feel happy here, the white of the snow offsets the darkness of the branches that stretch towards the sky like twisted fingers, trying to reach the sunlight that won't shine through the light gray sky.

I have missed the sun these last few weeks. Father always loved it, and he'd often badger Mother with ideas of going away for the winter. I would've loved to do so, but Mother insisted that we stay here for reasons she wouldn't disclose to me. I run my fingertips over the bark of a particularly large tree, digging my freshly-painted purple nails into it. I look up to see each of the limbs ascending like a staircase.

_How odd. I've never seen a tree grow like this. _I think to myself and it's true, most tree branches aren't formed like that, with each one growing systematically above the other one. I looked at it for another few seconds and the most insane urge to climb the tree overcame me.

This was not to be ignored so I cautiously stepped into the first branch which was about half a meter off the ground. I stepped up to the next one, and then the next one, going higher and higher, never stopping to think that this tree must be impossibly tall.

When I came to the last branch, I looked around and noticed that I couldn't see the tops of the trees anymore. I looked down to see the ground at an extremely far distance and my stomach flipped.

Carefully, I stepped back onto the branch I came from, intending to go back home and forget this whole day. What happened was not what I intended; almost as if by a force of its own, as soon as I put all my weight on the branch, it seems as though the tree knew I was leaving, as strange as that sounds, and the platform I was standing on collapsed beneath my feet.

In all honesty, I'm not that fat, and I had to work really hard to make sure I stayed that way. I didn't think of this as I fell however, it was more along the lines of _OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO DIE! _But who wouldn't think that.

I closed my eyes as the ground got nearer and nearer, bracing myself for the sickening crunch of my body against the frozen ground but it never came. I cautiously opened my eyes to find nothing but blackness, as if I hadn't opened them at all. I closed them again and saw no difference as my consciousness faded.


	2. Chapter 2: I Can't Smile

**_Chapter Two: I Can't Smile_**

My eyes opened and the first thing I see is sunshine. Needless to say, it hurts like hell.

The second thing I see when I am able to see again is the equally bright light of sunshine gleaming off of polished swords. Needless to say, I'm freaked out.

"What on earth!" I exclaim, sitting up and rubbing a small bump on my head. I can't remember anything from before I fell from the tree, how the hell did I end up on a stone street where the sun is shining with swords pointed at me and village women giving me hard glares?

I don't know the answer for this, and the people pointing their weapons at me don't exactly give the time to ask.

"Who are you?" One asks and I crane my neck up as far as it can go to look the man who's talking to me in my eye. I'm stunned at what he's wearing, but then again, I don't know where I am, it could be perfectly natural. He's wearing a red tunic with a chainmail shirt underneath and holding a helmet with his left hand while the other brandishes his sword. His skin is tanned and his eyes are bright and riddled with uncertainty and the faintest bit of anger. The first thing I take into account is how much he looks like a guard of Camelot from _Merlin. _

"That depends." I begin and he raises an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He asks and I shrug, sitting up and glancing around me. I'm lying on dirty cobblestone streets with baskets and boxes littered around me. The hem of my dress is dirty and torn, a fact that makes me upset as I paid quite a bit for it.

"Well, let's say that I'm in serious trouble if I say my name is Reina Jackson, I'm not going to tell you my name is Reina Jackson." I state and he gives me a confused look before morphing back into his angry face. I really don't know why I said that, all I did was make this obviously dangerous man angry.

He shakes his head and motions to the other men in his party, who all wear helmets so I can't see their faces. "We'll take her to those who have the power to deal punishment." He says in a cold voice and I grimace at his tone. If this is a dream, it's turning into a nightmare.

"What shall I tell him Fredrick?" Another guard asks and he looks to me with an evil smirk.

"Tell them we've found another witch." The man- Fredrick says with a very scary smirk towards me. I shudder visibly as two of the other guards grab me roughly by the arms and drag me to my feet. I thrash about a little bit on impulse and Fredrick sneers at me. "Bind her hands." He says and the remaining men nod, grabbing my wrists tightly and tying them together so I cannot move them.

I land on the hard, stone floor with a thud that echo's throughout the entire throne room at the feet of the son of Uther Pendragon.

On the way here, it struck me that I'd probably been watching way too much Merlin as a coping mechanism, and I must've fallen asleep in the forest and dreamed about climbing the tree and falling. But if it's just a dream, why do my knees hurt so much after Fredrick shoved me to the ground.

"We caught this one doing magic." He states and Arthur's gaze hardens. I don't know if it's before or after 'The Wicked Day' and I certainly hope it's before, he'll hate me less.

"I did not!" I yell, turning my head behind me to sneer at Fredrick.

"What was she doing?" The future king asks, ignoring my outburst and even I don't know.

"Well my lord…" He trails off, looking uncomfortable and stumbling over the words.

"_What _was she doing?" Another voice dotted with annoyance asks and I turn back to Arthur's side to see Agravaine standing there.

"Well my lord… s-she fell from the sky." He says and Arthur looks skeptical. I decide to play up the lie idea, even if this is a dream, I don't want to find myself at the wrong end of an axe.

"Oh god in heaven! Nobody's stupid enough to believe that!" I exclaim and I find myself again faced with the tip of Fredrick's sword. Arthur waves his hand, telling him to put it away and the guard almost pouts, as if he'd like nothing more than to run me through.

"Put it away." He commands and the guard does so, glaring daggers at me that I can still feel when I turn back to the ruler of Camelot. "Who are you?" He asks in a gentle, but still commanding voice.

"She says her name is Reina, my lord." Fredrick says and I close my mouth. Arthur glares at him for a moment.

"I don't believe I asked _you_ did I?" He asks rhetorically and Fredick (as I will call him from now on) stutters an apology. Arthur asks me again and I find myself scared to answer.

"My name is Reina, my lord, Reina Jackson." I respond quietly and he nods.

"And tell me Miss Jackson, did you fall from the sky?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Of course not! That's absurd!" I cry and Arthur nods.

"I agree. Fredrick, are you quite certain that you saw her fall from the sky?" The future king asks and Fredick nods quickly.

"Yes my lord. I was patrolling the gates when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw _her _landing on the ground. I summoned my men and we made off to arrest her." He responds and Arthur raises an eyebrow.

"You were the only one who saw this?" He asks and Fredick replies positively.

"Yes my lord." He says and Arthur nods.

"None of the other guards saw this." He asks and Fredick hesitates, before nodding slowly.

"Yes my lord, I was the only one." He says and I smirk in my mind.

_This is not looking good for him. _I think as Arthur continues.

"And nobody else in the street witnessed this?" Fredick freezes for a moment, before ruefully nodding.

"Yes my lord, no one else took notice of her until I caught her." Arthur looks thoughtful for a moment before looking down to me.

"Are you from Camelot?" He asks and I think quickly.

"No my lord." I respond and he looks a bit surprised.

"Then where do you hail from?" He asks and I search my mind for an acceptable sob-story.

"From a small village, just east of here. I left not three days ago and I was set upon by a band of thieves. They took all my belongings and left me to die." I tell him, grateful that I was scraped up a little bit from when I landed.

I'm still a tad skeptical that this is a dream, but I'm in a lot of pain now from the rope that binds my hands and skins them alive at the same time. Pain like this would not be felt in a dream… maybe; just maybe… it's real.

"I made my way here and I was exhausted my lord. I fell down and these men ran over, pointing their weapons at me. I did nothing wrong and I am no witch." I say and Arthur looks to Agravaine, who nods.

"Fredrick, is it entirely impossible that you may be mistaken about her?" He asks and Fredick's eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"No my lord. I know what I saw!" He says and Arthur nods.

"I see, but it is her word against yours and she seems harmless." He responds and I do a triumphant little dance in my mind.

"But my lord!" Fredick exclaims and Arthur raises his hand to silence him.

"Help her up, and unbind her hands." He states and Fredick roughly grabs me by the wrist and I hold my hands out.

He raises his sword above his head to slice through the rope, and I take into account how long the length of rope is between my wrists.

My startled hiss fills the air as his sword is brought down way too close to my left wrist, cutting the rope away, but cutting a piece of my skin as well.

I instinctively grab hold of the area that begins to bleed immediately and I look up to him, shock written all over my face.

"You did that on purpose!" I cry and he feigns apology.

"My lord, my apologize, I meant the girl no harm!" He says to Arthur, not me. The future king looks disbelieving, but inclines his head and looks to me with a slightly worried expression.

"Uncle, escort Reina to Gaius, I want every chance of infection snuffed out. When he is finished, return her to me, I must know all I can if we are to stop these thieves." He says and I freeze on the inside. Maybe my backstory was not the best one. Agravaine nods and walks down the steps to stand before me. He is imposing but he does not frighten me, not just yet any way. I let down of my wrist, which is now slick with blood and I look down to my ruined dress with blood stains that won't come out now caked into the material.

"Fuck." I whisper and Agravaine's eyes widen and I shake my head, suddenly quite frightened. "Oh, no my lord, not you! It's just that this is my favourite dress." I say and he nods, and I sigh.

"Fredrick, you will return to your post." Arthur says dismissively and the guard nods, turning to leave and sending me one more glare. I look to Agravaine and then to the door.

"Well, lead the way before I die of blood loss my lord." I say and Arthur's brow furrows.

"Are you hurt that badly?" He asks and I shake my head.

"No, it's just a scratch that, in worst occurrence, may scar. I'm just a bit of a drama queen." I reply and he looks confused at my terminology.

"Pardon?" He asks and I realize I just made a major slip-up.

"It's a term I use my lord, it simply means that someone needlessly over exaggerates to the extremes." I say and he nods. Agravaine turns and begins to leave and I have to walk quickly to match his long strides. I may be 6'1, but this man is incredibly tall.

We walk in silence until we reach the door with the little plaque reading 'COURT PHYSICIAN' in capital letter and Agravaine knocks on the door. I hear the sound of shuffling feet and the door creaks open to reveal an old man with white hair and fingerless gloves; Gaius, my favourite character.

I smile on the inside as he ushers us inside, welcoming me and Agravaine into his space.

"Well now, what can I do for you." Agravaine looks to me and I show the physician my hand and he tsk's. "How on earth did this happen?" He asks and I shrug.

"Fredrick nicked me with his sword." I explain and he nods.

"Well, this is a little more than just a nick, these types of cuts can easily be infected. Thank you, Agravaine, for bringing her to me." The doctor says and the advisor nods.

"And thank you, Gaius, for helping me," I say to him and he smiles at me, which I don't return.

"Put some of this slave on every three hours and change the bandages. This will kill the chance of infection, but whether or not it will scar is not up to me." He says when he's fully cleaned and bandaged my wrist. He holds out a small bottle full of pasty, odorless gray substance that I take alone with a roll of bandages. I tick these safely in my pocket and I nod to him.

"Thank you so much again." I say and he brushes it off as nothing.

"Did you say Fredrick did this to you?" He asks and I nod. "Well I can't say I'm surprised, the boy was always such a hot-head." He says with a grin and he gives me a concerned look.

"Well for heaven's sake child, smile! You're too young to be getting frown lines!" He exclaims and I feel the familiar stinging of tears in my eyes when he says this, a fact that does not go unnoticed by the two older men.

"I can't smile Gaius. Please, never ask me to again." I say quickly and I move around him, thanking him once more and opening the door, walking briskly the way that we came. Agravaine comes up behind me and I am struck with guilt at my behaviour. I turn back to Gaius's office, but I shake my head and continue on.

"You've returned." Arthur says and I nod, raising my hand to show him that Gaius has worked his magic. "Now that that's all settled, I'm going to need some information from you." He says and I flip my hair out of my eyes.

"Go ahead." I respond and he begins.

"Did these thieves bear any particular mark, something that might have been out of the ordinary?" He asks and I shake my head.

"They covered their faces but that's about it." I respond and he thinks for a moment.

"I see, what exactly did they take from you?" I think really quickly and come up with a random list.

"My horse, all the gold I took with me, my supplies and…" I stop short for a second, reaching my uninjured hand to grab at my throat and I gasp. The necklace Father gave to me is not there, I must've lost it when I fell… Both Agravaine and Arthur have noticed my strange behaviour and I decide to play it up.

"What is the matter?" Arthur asks and I shake my head. I can't believe that it's gone. I'd worn it every day since my sixteenth birthday when he gave it to me. It wasn't anything fancy, just a silver heart, but I loved it more than anything.

"My necklace! The monsters, they took my necklace!" I exclaim and he tries to calm me.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can find another one-" I cut him off with a glare that I didn't mean to give and my gaze instantly softens when he grows quiet.

"No, no you don't understand! He gave it to me!" I cry and Arthur looks puzzled.

"Your husband?" He asks and I shake my head.

"My Father." I say and a look of knowing passes over his face. "I can't get another one, he gave it to me." I say and the future king nods.

"I understand what you mean. I shall dispatch as many of my men as I can spare, we will find these villains, perhaps recover your belongings. For the time being I suggest you return home." He says and I shake my head. The village doesn't exist and I won't survive out there, I can barely light a match.

"I don't have a home to go home to." I say and his brow furrows. "My mother and father are dead and I couldn't pay my bills. The landlord threw me out so I decided to try my luck here." I say and he looks thoughtful.

"Very well. You have proved to be a loyal citizen and cooperative when providing information. Agravaine's maid had fallen ill and a replacement is needed for the next while. If it would please you, perhaps you'd like to fill the position?" He asks and the 'yes' is out of my mouth before he can finish his sentence.

"I'd love to." I respond and he smiles at me.

"Wonderful, I'll have someone escort you to the servant's quarters. Speak to Guinevere; she will inform you of all you need to know. Uncle, there are matters we must discuss." Arthur says to Agravaine, who nods and I move to leave the throne room, meeting a young man in a red tunic who leads me down a flight of stairs.

The servant's quarters are not as bad as they sound. In fact, they're cleaner than some of the streets outside, and I am more than glad that I'm not sleeping out there. From around the corner, a beautiful woman with dark hair and cocoa skin emerges and a smile lights up her face when she sees me. She brushes her hands off onto her green dress and walks toward me, holding her hand out.

"Hello, I'm Gwen." She greets and I shake it firmly.

"Charmed, I'm Reina."


	3. Chapter 3: Because It Hurts

**_Chapter Three: Because It Hurts_**

"What on earth is on your dress?" The maid asks and I look down again to see my blood has dripped all the way to the hemline.

"My blood." I reply bluntly and a hand flies to her mouth in shock. "Fredrick nicked me." I explain and her hand reaches out to grab my bandaged wrist gently.

"That bully. Did you get Gaius to cleanse it for you?" She asks and I nod, causing her to smile.

"He's got a good heart, and he's a very clever man." She says and I tell her I know.

"Well, we can't have you walking around in a bloody dress, you'll give the younger girls a fright, I'll lend you one of mine until you make something to buy your own with. Until then, I'll show you to Mildred's old room. "She says cheerily, leading the way and I follow close behind.

"Mildred?" I ask and she nods.

"Yes, lord Agravaine's old maid, she quit." She says and I stiffen a little, this won't be good.

"I thought Arthur said she was sick." I respond and she laughs a little.

"Probably said that to spare his feelings, Agravaine is hard to work for apparently, but I think you can handle it." She says giddily and I tell her I hope so.

She stops at a door and she takes a key from one of her pockets, turning it into the lock and the pushing the wood piece open roughly. She hands me the key and I place it on the bedside table. I take a good look around and I see just how little this room has. It's small, just borderline claustrophobic, with a bed, a closet and a bedside table as well as a little shelf with a mirror. It's actually quite quaint, maybe I'll talk to Gwen about painting it later, as it's obvious to me that I'm not waking up anytime soon.

"Oh, it's lovely." I tell her and she beams.

"It's one of the better ones, yes, I've always liked this room, but Mildred didn't have an ounce of responsibility in her body." She said somewhat sadly and I yawn. Gwen instantly looks sorry and I wonder what for.

"What's with the look?" I ask, cut off mid-sentence with another yawn.

"I'm sure it's been a heard day for you, I'll bring your dress in later, please, get some sleep, you'll need to be up before dawn tomorrow, Agravaine sleeps like a rock or so I'm told." She says and I absentmindedly nod as she leaves.

I spin around the room and flop down on the bed, not bothering to unlace my boots or take off my dress as I flip over and blow out the candle before I burn the place down, settling into a surprisingly easy sleep.

The next morning, I am woken up by the sound of trumpets; this strikes me odd as nobody plays the trumpet in Yorkshire. I roll over and look around the room, gasping.

_Where am I? _I think desperately and I sit up, not feeling tired anymore. I look out the small window to see that it's still dark outside and the memories of my day yesterday come flooding back and I sit back down on the bed, my heart pounding.

"Oh god, this is real." I say out loud and I look to my shelf. A bowl of water sits there, along with my medicine and bandages, while a royal blue gown lies at the foot of my bed. It's really pretty by my standards, with belled sleeves and a simple neckline, although compared to what I saw some other ladies of the actual court wearing, this is a rag to them.

I exchange my white dress for the blue one, walking over to the wash basin and cleaning up, leaving my hair loose as I forgot my tie back home. I take into account how early it is, and yet I don't feel tired, I was never an early riser per-say, but I can pretty much wake up when I want to, although the trumpets help plenty.

I slip my bandages and ointment into my pocket for reapplication when needed, and I lock the door behind me ask I leave, stalking off to the kitchens to collect lord Agravaine's breakfast. A sour-looking chef awaits me as I enter the warm, bustling kitchens and she glares at me as I take the tray. In a way I can't blame her, she's probably been up earlier than me and I know how shitty it feels for your mind to wake up before your body.

I look up to the towers when I leave, trying to remember exactly where the servant pointed when I asked where I was supposed to go. A few winding staircases later and a bit of mindless staring at beautiful tapestries, and I arrive in front of a set of heavy mahogany doors. They look sinister enough so I knock politely a few times and wait.

Five minutes later, I knock again, this time pounding on the door. Agravaine's food is getting cold and there will be hell to pay if he asks for something hot. Another five minutes later, I grip the handle and twist it, finding it open and I barge into the room.

I'm right in saying that it's Agravaine's room, and I am damn lucky that the door is so thick, his snoring could wake most of the universe, in fact, I'm pretty sure the beings on Pluto can hear this racket!

I set the tray down on his long table that he doesn't really have any use for, seeing as he has a freaking dining room downstairs, and I walk over to his windows. The curtains in front of them are really heavy, but I manage to pry them apart enough to let some of the sun's first rays into the room. I frown when he doesn't even stir.

_Doesn't anything from the movies actually work? _I ask myself, thinking back to all those films where all the servants had to do was open a window and their boss would wake up.

"Well, he appears to be sleeping; I suggest that I wake him gently." I say to myself, out loud this time and I approach his sleeping form. "My lord…" I say quietly and he does nothing. "WAKE UP!" I scream and he does just that.

"Good god woman!" He exclaims, jolting upright and clutching his heart like he's having a heart attack.

"Dude, you snore louder than my Uncle Harris! And _nobody _sleeps when he does." I say and he eyes me, obviously it's too early in the morning for him to have Morgana kill me, which is good.

I move over to his closet and I open the doors, grimacing at all the black. It's really depressing; no wonder he looks like a rain cloud all the time.

"So, what would you like to wear today?" I ask, grabbing a random shirt. "Black, black or… black?" I ask and he just gets out of bed, ducking behind the screen. I know he didn't want me to, but I still saw his medieval PJ's and I snicker behind my hand as I throw some random articles of clothing at him. He's done in literally five minutes and I gasp.

"What is it now, Miss Jackson?" He asks in a tired voice.

"It's amazing, like I don't even try!" I exclaim in regards to his appearance and his eyes lift up to the ceiling. He shakes his head and sits down at his place at the table, taking his fork and beginning to eat.

"Do you see that chest over there?" He asks me and I nod, walking over to it in case he wants something from it. I put my hand on the lock and his gaze hardens. "Don't touch it." He snaps and I jerk my fingers away like they've been burnt.

"You got it, and call me Reina." I tell him. He says nothing more and I just start to putter about, making his bed and other stuff.

"Tell me… Reina, have you ever been a made before?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Nope, I'll need lots of advice." I say and he smirks a little, staring at the wall.

"Well, here's a helpful bit. Until Mildred returns, you will find alternative ways of waking me.: He says and I shrug.

"KO, but just as a head's up, Mildred's not coming back, she… was fired." I say, hesitating at the last bit, wanting to spare his feelings. His smile fades and he looks back to me.

"I know that Mildred quit." He says quietly and I almost feel bad for him… almost.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm permanent." I say and he looks a little angry.

"No, that does _not _make me feel any better Reina." He snaps and I shut up. Although I personally believe he can go die in a hole, in fact I'll bring a shovel and bury him, my feelings are a little bruised.

"Well I'm not exactly singing in the rain either." I reply testily and he sighs, pushing his plate away from him and standing.

"I have a council meeting that will take up most the day, your presence is not mandatory, and I'm sure you'd much rather busy yourself with other activities." He says and I nod, collecting his tray and turning to leave.

His next words stop me in my tracks.

"Reina, why can't you smile?" He asks and I consider just leaving.

"Because it hurts." I say softly and I don't stop walking until I'm at the staircase.

I take the steps to at a time, not bothering to fight the tears that blue my vision. It feels better than good to finally let some out, and even though I'm not my Mother, it's fantastic to let go a little bit.

I don't notice someone coming until it's too late.

I bonk heads with the person and fall to the ground backwards, muttering angry words that don't even make sense to me, much less to the other person.

"I am so sorry, Miss." a voice with a clean British accent says and I groan.

"Don't worry, I've sustained more harmful injuries in the last twenty-four hours." I tell the person who sounds like a man. I hear him laugh and he helps me up.

"It's good that you're alright, I'm Merlin." he says and I look him in the eye, happy that he doesn't notice my puffy, red face. His Leonard Nimoy style hair is in his blue eyes and his blue ascot is messily tied around his neck. His face is chiseled with a kind of handsomeness that only occurs when someone has just matured and I almost smile at his grin.

"Hello Merlin, I'm Reina." I reply. And his smile widens.

"You're the new girl who had her wrist chopped off by Fredrick, right?" he asks and I nod, showing him my cut.

"The one and only, how did you know?" I reply with a question and he shrugs.

"Word spreads fast here." He replies and I open my mouth to answer when I realize that I have stuff to do.

"I really should go, I have stuff to do. Maybe we can talk again sometime?" I ask and his grin brightens.

"I live with Gaius, come visit me, I'd really enjoy the company." He says and I nod.

"I will." I reply and move around him, picking up my tray and hightailing it to the kitchen.

I open the doors and wipe my eyes, throwing the dishes in the sink and wondering what the hell I can do now. It's not often that Agravaine would basically give me the day off, and I guess that's his way of being nice. We kind of got off on the wrong foot I guess and I decide to spend the rest of the day trying to make it up to him.

_Well, for starters, I saw some really pretty flowers by the stream as I was being dragged through the streets. _I think to myself and I look to one of the counters, spying a shallow basket and hooking it around my arm.

I push the doors open again as I hear another maid wail at how many dishes she has to wash. Even though I'm a bit sad, a day like today never fails to cheer me up; the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the hunchback on the street corner stands just a bit straighter, it's really wonderful.

The wind picks up and blows my hair everywhere, which I'm kind of pissed about but I brush it off, trying to remember exactly where I saw the lavender sprigs. Mother used to put them on my pillow when she did the wash. 'They're for sweet dreams' she explained when I asked and somehow, I always managed to sleep a little better when she did that.

I finally reach the grassy area of Camelot and I sprawl out on the banks, choosing only the prettiest and freshest sprigs to put in my basket. I'm busy sorting through flowers when I hear someone come up behind me. I turn and look to see something quite odd.

This horse is staring at me with big, sad brown eyes. Its coat is an inky black, but its mane and tail is stark white, which is odd, I'll grant, but what gets me is how hungry it looks. Its coat may be a strange color, but it's dingy and dirty, with its ribcage more than visible. I love horses, I have since I was a little kid, but this is just madness, no one should treat anything like that.

I slowly reach into my pocket and pull out the shiny, red apple I was going to have for breakfast and I roll it over to the starving animal who sniffs it, and then eats it's so fast that it's gone in the blink of an eye.

It comes closer to me, wanting more and I shake my head.

"Sorry sugar, I don't have anymore." I explain to the animal who keeps moving closer. I tentatively reach up and stroke its nose, a little feeling of elation settling in my heart. "Do you have a name? Do you even have an owner?" I ask and the horse says nothing because… well, it's a horse, but I take it as a no anyway. "Oh, well then, I think I'll call you Evangeline." I say to her and the girl horse looks pleased. "Do you like that?" I ask and she snorts in agreement.

I pick up my basket and I stand up, running my hands over her mane that's matted and filthy. I sigh, knowing that this will cost me.

"Alright, Eva, let's get you to the stable."


	4. Chapter 4: Mission Accomplished

**I don't usually do authors notes, but the links to my OC's are in my profile... enjoy!  
**

**_Chapter Four: Mission Accomplished_**

The stable cost is crippling, but I know that I'll somehow manage. I leave Evangeline in the care of the capable stable boys and I begin my ascension to Agravaine's room. I know he's not in there, so I don't even bother to knock when I enter.

The first thing I do is remove the dead flowers from the vase on the table, replacing them with the roses I found near the lavender, they smell fantastic and they cheer up the room greatly. I open the curtains again, this time with a lot more effort so that light can flood in, and I set about making the bed.

I strip the red and white sheets off and I throw them in the dirty linens bag, removing the fresh ones that the laundress delivered. It takes a few tries, but I finally get that clean, wrinkle-free look that my Mother specialized in when she made my bed when I was little.

I tie some of the springs together with a length of ribbon that I found in one of the drawers in my room and I place them on his pillow. Spotting some paper and a pen on his desk, I scribble down a note and place it near the flowers, signing my name.

I stand back and admire my handiwork once it's done and in all honesty, it's less of a shit-hole. I really hope this makes up for my childish behavior this morning, seeing as Agravaine is probably whining to Arthur about me right now. I brush my hands off on my dress and flip my bangs out of my eyes, making to leave when I spot his chest.

There's only two things that he can be hiding in there, ye old porn or evil magic stuff. I know that Agravaine is a smart man, so there is no way he would keep magic in a box with Uther prowling around, or in this case, sitting in a chair, staring out the window. The only other thing that he could be hiding is probably porn, and I really do not want to see that.

I leave the room before I actually consider taking a peek and I venture out into the hallway. It's a little after lunch and Agravaine told me that I'd only be needed at dinner, as the council was eating separately.

I really don't see what else I can do, but maybe Merlin is around, maybe I should pay the future Emrys a visit.

I open the doors to the dining room and my eyes light up when I see Arthur sitting at the very middle of the table with Merlin standing beside him. He grins as he sees me and I wave a little to him, bowing a little to the king and standing beside the manservant.

"My lord, I'm so sorry to interrupt your lunch, I hope you don't mind if I talk to Merlin, I'm dreadfully bored." I explain and he nods. I turn back to the dark-haired man and I see a weird sort of glimmer in his eyes.

"Hello, Reina." he says and I greet him in turn.

"Hi Merlin, how's the head, I am so sorry about the whole stair-tackle thing." I apologize and he says it's fine.

"Shouldn't you be with lord Agravaine?" the secret warlock asks and I shake my head. I open my mouth to tell him that he's in a council meeting when I look to my left to see Arthur sitting there again.

This doesn't make sense, Arthur's part of the council, if he's here then there is no council meeting, and the slimy bastard is probably out talking to Morgana.

"Um, no actually, he's not feeling well and he didn't want me to get sick." I explain and Arthur looks to me.

"How terrible, maybe I should send for Gaius." he says and my eyes widen. I shake my head frantically and try to come up with an excuse for my behavior.

"Oh no my lord, it's merely a fever, I'm sure he's just fine, don't trouble yourself. How is the hunt for the thieves?" I ask, changing the subject which goes unnoticed by the king.

"We've tracked a group of bandits to the outer borders; one of the women was spotted wearing a silver necklace, although no horses accompanied them. We fear they may have already sold it" he says woefully and I can believe my luck. I don't know how they found my necklace, but at least I'm not a liar anymore. If they have my necklace, then they stole from me. That does little to remedy the guilt I feel at lying my face off.

"My lord, it is great new then that I have recovered my horse." I tell him and he looks to me in surprise.

"How can this be?" he asks and I shift my weight.

"I went out to the stream by the forest this morning and in a fit of desperation, I called her name. You can imagine my surprise when my poor animal emerged from the trees." I said and he looked relived.

"This is great news indeed, tell me, where is she now, for I would like to examine her for enemy trappings." he says and I shake my head.

"My lord, Evangeline is frail, she is in the stables now, but I think it would be best to give her some time to recover." I tell him and he nods.

"Understandable." he merely says. I nod and turn to leave, as I don't want to be here if the king moves on to more questions about Agravaine.

"My lord, excuse me, but I must return to your uncle, I'll send for Gaius if need be." I say and turn to leave when he stops me.

"Give him my regards, Miss Jackson." he says and I bow a little, turning and leaving quickly.

I wander around upstairs until I see a black shape letting itself into its room. I wait a few minutes until I follow suit, opening the door to see a tired looking Agravaine sitting at his table with his head in his hands.

He raises his eyes to mine as I enter and shut the door behind me, sealing us off from the rest of the world.

"You nephew was asking questions, my lord." I inform him and he stiffens. "He wanted to know where you were, and you were not at a council meeting." I say quietly, pausing and trying to find the right words. "I don't know what you were doing today, in all honesty, it's none of my business, but you lied to me and to your family, and to save you from any doubt on his part, I lied to the ruler of my country in turn. If you're going to show up at dinner tonight, please pretend to be sick." I finish and he nods.

I know he was with Morgana, but I'm not about to tell him that, he puts his head back down on the desk and looks so very sad. I don't know what episode we're in, but I'm pretty sure The Wicked Day will start in a month or so. I also can't remember if Morgana screamed at him, maybe, why else would he look so depressed?

"Dinners in a little bit, if you don't feel up to it, I could bring you something instead." I offer gently and he shakes his head.

"No, that will not be necessary, Reina." he says.

"Okay then, I'm just going to hang out here." I reply and he gives me no sign that he's heard me. I putter about him room, noticing that he smashed all of my hard work. His desk is in ruins, with ink and paper spilt everywhere. I start to clean it up, getting ink stains on my hands as I try to keep them away from Gwen's dress. I'll have to buy at least two new dresses for myself, one to wash while I wear the other, and for the next few minutes, I busy myself with thoughts of how I want them to look.

I am pulled from these thoughts when I look to Agravaine and I notice how dirty his clothing is. Mud cakes his trousers and tunic, and his chainmail is dingy, as if he had a row with a tree.

"My lord?" I ask tentatively and he turns around, looking to me. "You lied and you snuck out, all that I can forgive, but really? You could've at least attempted to stay clean!" I exclaim and the ghost of a smile appears on his lips as I walk over to him. "You'd better change, your nephew is wise, he'll wonder why you went out in the forest when you're sick." he stands when I finish and I usher him behind the screen, chucking some new clothes at him and throwing the dirty ones in the hamper.

I'll have to wash those later. I think to myself, as the hamper is almost full.

Agravaine steps out from behind the screen again in record time and I look outside to see the sun sinking. Dinner will start soon, and I look to my boss.

"You look like hell, stay that way." I state and he seems too exhausted to backhand me.

We walk towards the door and he opens it for me, making me wonder if he really is okay, and we walk down the staircases to the front hall. He has to pull me away from all the lovely tapestries, but after a couple lefts later, we reach the giant doors that separate us from the dining room. These doors are open and cozy firelight radiates throughout the room, and the buzzing sound of a zillion conversations rings in my ears. It's really homey and a welcome change to my usually solitary meals at home.

Uther is nowhere in sight, but Arthur sits in his regular place stands and bows to his uncle, who repeats the gesture to his nephew. Agravaine takes his place beside the king's empty throne and I stand behind him, refilling his glass when he needs it and talking to Merlin.

"We've met three times, Reina, tell me, how was your first day in Camelot?" the man asks and I shrug. It had been a busy day, but still, it was more fun than I'd had in a long, long time.

"It's been awesome, but tomorrow I won't get a whole day off, and the fact that I haven't eaten anything all day is kind of catching up to me." I confess and he grins.

"Wonderful!" he says and I wonder if he has an inner ear problem.

"How is that good?" I ask over the din.

"What?" he asks back and I sigh. I wave goodbye, realizing it's hopeless, and I walk back over to Agravaine, picking up a pitcher of water and filling his glass. He takes a sip and spits it out, looking to me angrily.

"What is this?" he asks and I give him a 'really, you're asking that?' look.

"It's water, the basic need of life." I deadpan and he looks really pissed about my snarkiness.

"But why is it in my glass?" he asks and I resist the urge to facepalm.

"You've had three alcoholic drinks so far, of you don't want to get hung over, you will drink the water." I say and he scoffs.

"That is absurd." he states and I roll my eyes.

"Hey, Papa didn't raise no fool, and for the last few weeks, Mama didn't raise me at all, so go ahead, don't listen to me, but tomorrow you'll be sorry." I say, picking up his glass and exchanging the water within for wine. "Are you satisfied?" I ask and he nods.

"Quite." he answers and I scowl at him.

"Seven days..." I say quietly and he gives a confused look, to which I reply with a creepy-ass smile that makes him look away quickly. I smile to myself.

_Mission accomplished. _


	5. Chapter 5: So Much Blood

**_Chapter Five: So Much Blood_**

"Maybe you should have another glass of wine my lord; I don't think you're in a stupor yet." I say sarcastically to the uncle of Arthur whose still eating. Granted, it's not that irregular, as no one else has stopped yet either. He glares daggers at me and I give him a glare, channeling my inner bitch.

"So, Merlin, now that we can hear again, I'm going to cry in about five seconds." I say, turning to the dark-haired manservant. He looks a little confused and I scoff.

"Why, I thought you were having fun." He says and I shrug.

"I am, but if I have to lug Agravaine all the way those flights of stairs to his room, then I'll throw a fit." I say quietly, not wanting the lord to hear me.

"Don't be ridiculous, we may be just the help, but they have special people to do that kind of work." He reassures me and I sigh in relief.

"There is a god." I exclaim and he laughs softly.

"Where did you come from, I've heard whispers that you're a princess from another kingdom." He says and I almost laugh.

"Don't believe everything you hear. I'm from a village just east of here and I wanted to see Camelot. I was robbed on my way here and Arthur was nice enough to give me a job." I sum up my fake story and he nods.

"Now that makes much more sense." He confesses and I wholeheartedly agree.

"So, what's it like working for Arthur?" I ask and he fakes a shudder.

"I'm abused." He says simply and I pat him on the back.

"It's okay, we all know he can be a prat, just take comfort in the fact that maybe he'll grow out of it." I say and he sighs.

"I really, really hope so." He says and I give him a sympathetic look. That look turns to annoyance when Agravaine calls me over.

"And my anger grows." I say only to Merlin who looks as though he's a cross between amused and bewildered.

"Reina, I am ready to leave." The lord informs me and I'm stunned.

"You don't want any more alcohol?" I ask in a disbelieving voice and he eyes me testily.

"No, all I want is rest from you." He says and I feign offence.

"So rude…" I mutter as he stands, bows to Arthur and moves to leave. I bow to the future king as well and wave goodbye to Merlin, promising him that I'll talk to him tomorrow.

"You seem to have a fondness for my nephew's manservant." Agravaine says once we've left the hall and I snort.

"He's the only one who's been nice to me yet, not counting the prince and Gaius." I respond and he squares his shoulders a little.

We pass through the tapestry hallway again and I find myself slowing down to look at them. They're all so beautiful, made of red fabric and stitched with gold thread to they sparkle in the last rays of the sun. Each shows an important scene from Camelot's history, and I stop dead at the most brilliant of them all.

Sewn into the red and yellow background with an expert hand is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Her golden hair is loos and flowing over her shoulders and a veil hides her face as she walks down the throne room, with people on either side of her, and Uther at the end. The TV show has absolutely Ygraine's beauty, she just radiated loveliness and it's hard to believe that Agravaine and her come from the same gene pool.

"Reina come on then…" Agravaine trails off when he sees what I'm so fixated on, and his annoyance at my reluctance to move quickly is replaced with full-fledged anger. I practically see it bubbling up in his eyes and for a second, it's almost as if they flash red. I know why he's pissed, but also in a way, I don't.

"What's this one of?" I ask to nobody and I move down a few tapestries to an even larger one.

This one is nothing like the others. Orange and yellow threads form the fire while screaming people are etched in, their faces contorted in pain and I can almost hear their wails. An axe done in silver thread is brought down onto the neck of a magic-user, and gushing from the place where his head used to be is a stream of red that puddles around the chopping block.

The Great Purge.

I gasp and turn my eyes away. It's so horrible to look at, so horrible to see someone doing this to so many people.

I turn on my heel and begin to walk down the hallway faster than my boss can keep up with but I don't care, I don't care about anything. He's calling for me to slow down now but I don't, I have to get away from all that blood. I'd never seen so much of it, and it was everywhere, staining my mind and filling it with images of that disgusting tapestry that is put on display as if it is something to be proud of.

I feel sick as I race up the stairs, but I don't stop, I just keep running up the winding steps, faster and faster until everything's a blur.

"Reina!" I hear someone call and it distracts me enough to cause me to miss the next step and lose my footing. I grab hold of the banister to keep me from falling, but it slows me down enough for Agravaine to catch up.

I ease myself back into a paced walk with Agravaine by my side, my mouth set in a firm line.

"_That, _my lord, is why I can't smile." I say in an icy voice that I can't believe belongs to me. We reach his door without another word on either of our parts and I find it to be extraordinarily dark. I stumble over to his desk to light a candle and I place it on his bedside table. Agravaine walks over and sits down heavily on his bed, sighing. He looks to his left and sees the lavenders I placed there along with the note.

He reads it in silence and then picks up a flower, giving it a sniff and smiling the smallest bit.

"Thank you, Reina that is very thoughtful of you." He says and I nod. I don't know whether I should go yet, but I hand him something to wear to bed and I turn to leave when he stops me yet again.

"Yes my lord?" I ask and he sighs heavily, as if trying to find the right words.

"I am so very sorry that you had to see that Reina, this kingdoms history drips blood." He says quietly and I nod through the darkness, blowing out the candles.

"I know." I reply and I open the door, letting it close with a thud behind me. I walk back down to the servant's hall, avoiding the tapestry corridor and I lay down on my bed, wishing that I had my sleeping pills as uneasy sleep consumes me.

_"Mother, where has Father gone? He isn't in his room!" I exclaim and the red-haired woman sighs, taking another drag from her cigarette. _

_"He's gone to work." She says and my eyes widen. _

_"WHAT?! HE'S SICK MOTHER, HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?" I cry and she looks on the verge of tears. _

_"I'm sorry raindrop, but he must pay the bills, illness or no." She explains and I shake my head. _

_"Mother, that isn't fair! I'm going to go see how he's doing, you've probably killed him!" I shout at her and she winces. I grab my coat off the hook and I throw open the front door, tearing off down the road to the town just down the hill. _

_I stop, out of breath in front of my Father's bank, and I push open the door. What I see is not what I expect at all. _

_Four hooded men are pointing guns at all of the bank tellers, one of them being my Father. They don't see me right away, but that changes when I scream. _

_"Grab her!" One of the men yells and Father looks to me with a fear I've never seen before in his eyes. Father had always been the brave one, and it scares me even more that he's as frightened as I am. _

_"Run Reina, get out of here!" He yells and I nod, taking a last glance at him as I bolt out of the door into the fall air, running as fast as I can. _

_I finally stop when a gunshot is fired and the sound of a man's dying scream is heard for miles. _

I wake up with a start, breathing heavily as tears seep from my eyes at the memory. It's haunted me almost every night since it happened and I doubt that I'll ever be rid of it. I look up to the window and realize that the trumpets will be blaring any minute now, so I swing my legs over the side of the bed and notice that the Gwenfairy has let me borrow another dress. This one is powder blue with a simple corset front and the standard bell sleeves. I'll give her back the other one if I see her today and I notice that the sweet woman has also given me a length of rope to tie my hair with.

I pull it up into a high ponytail, splashing my face to get rid of the tear lines as I follow yesterday's pattern of getting Agravaine's food. The cook doesn't scowl at me today, as she's too busy sleeping to do that, but I take the tray as quietly as possible so that I won't wake her.

I open Agravaine's door without knocking this time, feeling wide awake after my nightmare. I push the door open and the first thing I notice is the lack of snoring. This is odd because usually someone's a snorer for life once they're that age.

It also strikes me odd at the way his blankets are tangled, as if he'd been thrashing about all night. I don't know why I notice this, as its firm in my mind how much I detest him, especially after 'The Darkest Hour' but it was strange to think that someone so evil could be burdened by something as simple as a nightmare, I suppose my Mother's tactics work on no one but me.

I turn away and throw open the curtains so sunlight can stream in and I shield my eyes at how bright it is. I step out of the way and let it stream onto his face. After a while, much to amusement, he finally stirs.

He opens his eyes and then shuts them, blocking the light of the sun from hitting him.

"I trust you like that method better?" I ask and he sits up and shakes his head.

"It's less annoying, but in all honesty, no." He confesses.

"Meh, don't worry about it, how was your sleep?" I ask and he shudders a little bit.

"It is safe to say that lavender does not work with me." He says and I grimace.

"That bad, huh?" I ask and he nods.

"Positively awful." He says and I sigh.

"Well, I got you some breakfast; although its fair game for it to be garbage, the cook was sound asleep when I took it from the kitchen." I inform him and he sits down, not bothering to get dressed first.

I root through his cupboard, trying to find something, anything other than black and I chance upon a single white shirt.

"Ah-ha!" I exclaim triumphantly and he gives me an 'it's too early in the morning for you to be yourself' look. "Viola, for you are normal, you'll be wearing this today!" I exclaim and he doesn't look pleased.

"Very well." He merely says, but does not argue.

"You know" I begin, lying his pants and shirt on the bed, sitting on the edge next to them. "I had nightmares too last night." I say and he says nothing. "Do you… want to talk about yours, my lord?" I ask tentatively and he puts his fork down, sighing and shaking his head.

"No, no I wouldn't like that at all, Reina." He says and I nod. I get it, I'd have nightmares all the time as a kid, and I would never tell Mother or Father about them. Nightmares show what you truly fear, and I understand if he doesn't want his fears on display for someone he's known for less than a day.

"Alright then, what's today's schedule?" I ask and he resumes eating.

"I have important matters to discuss with Arthur and you will be present there." He says and I groan a little.

"And on a scale from one to ten, how boring will this be?" I ask and he ponders it.

"An eleven." He states and I groan louder, standing and walking over to him, picking up his unused knife.

"Here, stab it into my heart, it will make it easier." I demand of him and he tells me no.

"You certainly do have a dark sense of humour, don't you?" He asks and I shrug.

"Depends, you have a dark sense of humor too." I respond and he raises an eyebrow.

"And how do you know that?" He asks.

"You laughed."


	6. Chapter 6: The Simple Life

**_Chapter Six: The Simple Life_**

"Touché." Agravaine says with his signature smug smile. I know I've probably just annoyed him, which is not that great as he can, and most likely will, have Morgana rain down a godly firestorm on me in a few weeks.

I don't really want to even think that far ahead, so I settle with just rattling off noise that means nothing.

"Today, I have; standing there and twiddling my thumbs while you talk to our future king for an undetermined amount of time, as well as loads of washing and not to mention cleaning." I say with a nod and now it's his turn to look bored.

He stands, finishing and I give him his clothes to wear while I gather up his dishes. I really never did wash clothes at home, but I guess that learning is always an option, seems as though I'll have to exercise that rather frequently.

"The council with Arthur does not begin until midday; you are free to do whatever chores you have to." He says and I nod, picking up his tray, bowing a bit, grabbing the laundry, and leaving quickly, this wash is heavy and my back will be screwed if I have to stand there another minute. I bolt down to the kitchen and drop off his dishes and then run outside, my back already starting to hurt

"Hey, um... Dude, where's the laundry room?" I ask a random guard who says nothing but points to the left. "Much obliged." I say and the guard nods when I salute.

I take off to the left and I head outside, hearing the sound of water somewhere to my right this time. I turn around the corner to see a large courtyard, completely dominated by huge wooden tubs filled with sudsy water. It seems as though I'm the first one here, so I set down the linen bag and dump the contents into the water.

I wash the two sets of black clothes first, scrubbing the mud away so the water runs clean. I turn around and hang them on the line that runs above my head and I set out to do the sheets. These are harder, and they take some time, but pretty soon they're hanging on the line and drying in a nice breeze that's sprung up out of nowhere.

I decide to go visit Eva while the laundry is drying, so I leave the bag here and skip off to the stables.

There's no one in there when I enter, but I hear the happy snorting sound of 'my' horse and I walk over to her, picking up a brush to brush her. I hold my hand out to say hello and she sniffs it, snorting softly.

"Hey girl, you feeling better?" I ask, looking to her sides to see that less of her bones are visible and her mane and tail is nicely braided. "Okay, let's get you cleaned off." I say, raising the brush and running it over her coat lightly. She looks a lot happier, and even though I probably won't have any money left over when I pay the cost with the cost of my dresses, I don't mind."Would you like me to sing you a song Eva? All of my other horses liked that." I ask her and I take her silence as a yes. "Okay then, which one?"

I search my mental iTunes and decide on something from my favorite musical back home; Hairspray.

"_I can hear the bells_." I start and I'm glad no one is around to hear me. "_Well? Don't cha' hear 'em chime_?" this is the best song out there, and it feels good to sing again. "_Can't ya hear my heartbeat, keeping perfect time? And all because he..._" I begin to brush her a little harder, getting the inlaid grime out. "_Touched me, he looked at me in stare. Yes he... bumped my heart was unprepared when he... tapped me, and knocked me off my feet. One little touch now my life's complete..."_

"You have a beautiful voice." someone says behind me and I completely lose my shit. I jump six feet in the air and screech like a nut before the person grabs my shoulders, turning me around. I stop screaming when I take in the grown eyes, chiseled face and Loréal hair of Gwaine. I put a hand to my chest, breathing heavily and trying to slow my heart rate.

"Never. Do. That. Again." I wheeze and he smiles, revealing w set of pearly white teeth.

"I make no promises." he says with a flip of his hair and I roll my eyes, turning back to my horse. "I'm Gwaine." he says.

"That's nice." I reply, lifting the brush to Evangeline's side.

"So, is you name as pretty as your face?" he says when he realizes I'm more focused on Eva than him.

"Depends, I'm Reina." I say finally, knowing that the persistent man won't go away.

"That really is lovely, tell me, where have you been hiding?" he asks and I roll my eyes for a second time.

"In a hole so you wouldn't find me." I snap back and his smile brightens.

"But I found you anyway, you see, I'm a very persistent person." he says and I glower at him.

"No, you're annoying." I say and he shrugs.

"Most likely. I thought angels only rode white horses." he says peering around me and looking at Evangeline. I smack him in the arm and realize that I won't be getting any horse care done. The laundry is probably ready to make a move to leave.

"I'm no angel, I'm a bitch." I say and his eyes widen at my language. "And I have laundry to do." I finish, successfully maneuvering around him.

"Then I'll help." he offers and I shrug, annoying as his is, I sure as hell don't want to lug all that laundry back to Agravaine's room.

"Well, alright." I sigh and he looks surprised as I lead him back to the washing courtyard, pushing my way past an insane amount of women. "Here, carry this." I say, shoving the dry bed linens into his arms while I take Agravaine's clothing.

"Whatever you say, angel." he says and I scoff.

"Whatever, come on." he follows behind as I enter the castle, turning and climbing up the stairs. The climb doesn't seem to bother him, which is great, and he doesn't talk as we do so, which is even better. He does, however, look startled when I stop in front of Agravaine's door.

"You're his maid?" he asks disbelievingly and I nod, opening the door and walking inside.

"Yeah." I reply, and Agravine looks up from his place by the window. He was staring out it, I can tell, and he obviously stopped for some reason.

"My lord." Gwaine says respectfully and I incline my head to Arthur's uncle.

"Gwaine your such a wonderful, incredibly handsome and un-pushy man, I can't fathom my life before you." I say and he beams. I stop and place the clothing on the bed, looking back to him. "Wait, that's not right, take what I just said, reverse it... There you go." I say and his face falls while Agravaine's brightens.

"But I just carried my weight in laundry up a flight of stairs for you!" he exclaims in a whiny tone.

"And you did it really well! But now I have more pressing things to attend to, so please, make yourself scarce." I say, shooing him out the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks hopefully and I shrug.

"Only if I can't duck into the undergrowth fast enough." I say and I hear soft laughter behind me. I am finally able to push him out the door and I shut it behind him.

I lean against the door, pressing my ear against it until I hear him walk away.

"I am so sorry my lord, he followed me." I say to Agravaine who shakes his head.

"It's quite alright, but please try to make sure that it does not happen again." he says and I nod.

"It won't, you'll never see him in this room again." I reassure and Agraivaine looks relieved. "Guess what? I went out to the forest yesterday, and guess who I found?" I ask.

"Enlighten me, for I have no idea." he deadpans.

"My horse, Evangeline. She came out of the forest when I called her name." I tell him with excitement in my voice.

"Wonderful, I take it you know how to ride?" he asks and I tell him yes.

"Yep, since I was five." I say.

"My council with Arthur will start shortly, I suggest that we leave." he informs me and I nod.

We leave the room and make our way to the throne room and I feel better when he purposely avoids the tapestry hall.

"Maybe it's better that we generally avoid going down there at all costs." I suggest and he agrees. The throne room is a freaking eternity away from Agravaine's, and we walk in silence for most of it until I ask my boss what this meeting is about exactly.

"There have been some disturbances with the people of Odin's Land in the furthermost borders, land that is ours being claimed as theirs and such." He says dismissively and I fall silent again. I open the doors for him this time when we reach the throne room and I frown when I see Arthur bending over a map, looking troubled. I glance around, looking for Merlin, but I see he's nowhere to be found.

This saddens me a little bit; I'd hoped to visit with him, seeing as the meeting was going to be so boring. Arthur looks up as we enter and greets his uncle. The king then turns to me in surprise.

"Merlin just went looking for you, said something about Gaius needing check up on you." He says.

"Awesomesauce, he'll turn up eventually, and when he does…" I trail off, moving and sitting down. "I'll be waiting." I finish and Agravaine jumps right into business.

"The outer borders are weak Arthur; we must reinforce them as soon as possible." He says, taking off his leather jacket and Arthur looks a little stunned to see him wearing white, but shakes it off.

I tune out for most of it as it's mostly just battle plans when Merlin finally enters. I'm sitting sideways over a chair, with my legs over one arm rest and my back against the other, yawning. I look up from playing with a loose, powder blue string when he walks in and he looks relieved and annoyed to see me.

"I have been looking all over for you!" He exclaims and I shrug. I'm way too tired to argue but that doesn't mean I won't try.

"Maybe you should've looked here first then." I reply and he opens his mouth to say something back but closes it.

"Gaius said that he needs to inspect your wrist, just to see how the clotting's coming along." He says and I groan.

"So… many… stairs…" I say and he smiles, walking over to me.

"Well then, if you won't go willingly, then I'll just have to make you." He says and before I can ask just what the hell he means by this, he scoops me up bridal style. I instinctively lace my arms around his neck so tightly I'm afraid I'll choke him, screaming bloody murder.

"Merlin, holy shit! Put me down!" I thrash about and the two lords look to me in shock.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, you had your chance, keep fighting like that and all you'll get is a bump on the head when I drop you." That does it. I stop squirming and look him in the eye.

"If you so much as lower me a centimeter without telling me first, I will knock you unconscious with a book, put you in a wheelbarrow and throw you off a cliff." I threaten and he doesn't look scared.

"I for one, would love to see you try." He says, walking towards the door.

"Wait, Merlin stop for a second, my lord since I'm technically being forced from the room, I'm allowed to leave, right?" I ask and Agravaine nods. "Great, now, march." I say, looking to the wizard who does so.

As he walks, I can't help it but the fear of him dropping me is left behind. I don't know, but it just feels like I can trust the man, which is rare at best.

"So, Merlin, how've you been?" I ask, starting a conversation and he shrugs, shifting his weight and getting a better grip on me.

"Arthur's been running me ragged, I'll be happy when his birthday rolls around, I'll finally get to have some fun." He says and I find myself to be curious.

"When is his birthday?" I ask and he thinks for a moment.

"In about month I suppose, give or take." He says and I stiffen, 'The Wicked Day' will begin soon, and it's all downhill from there.

"Oh, great. I met Gwaine today." I tell him and to my surprise, he laughs.

"You've certainly been to hell and back lately, haven't you? Working for Agravaine, meeting the most fun and yet the most pushy knight there is, how do you wake up in the morning?" He asks.

"Well I'll tell you a secret; it involves drugs, lots and lots of drugs."


	7. Chapter 7: It Makes Sense

**_Chapter Seven: It Makes Sense_**

"Merlin have you found Reina… What are you doing?!" The old man asks when he turns from his bottle-covered desk to the door, laying his eyes on Merlin carrying me into the room.

"She was unwilling to walk, Gaius." Merlin says in his defence and Gaius looks disbelieving.

"So you carried her here?" he asks and Merlin shrugs.

"Hey, I got her here, which is all you asked." He retaliates and the physician sighs.

"Put her down, I need to examine her wrist." The elderly man says and Merlin sets me on a chair and I hold my bandaged wrist out to him. He unties it and sets it down, as he looks at the cut from all angles. In two days it's scabbed over, which is nothing less than a miracle, I just hope it doesn't scar.

"Well?" I ask after he's thought for quite some time.

"You've been taking care of it, bandaging it like I requested?" He questions and I nod.

"Yes Gaius, every day, every three hours just like you said." I reply and he smiles.

"Wonderful, wonderful." He turns to his workspace and runs his fingers over the lids of the bottles, as if looking for a certain one.

"Well, that is odd." He says and I wonder what he means. "The anti-scarring ointment is gone, Merlin, did you take it?" Gaius asks and Merlin shakes his head.

"No, I didn't. Things like this have been happening a lot though." He says and Gaius nods.

"Yes, things have been disappearing." I freeze at this, things missing in Camelot is never good, usually bad is involved but I shake myself out of it.

_What can Morgana do with a bottle of anti-scarring ointment? _I ask myself, brushing my worry off.

"What's gone missing?" I ask and the white-haired man thinks for a moment.

"Oh, I don't know, a few vials of pain killer, three bottle of anti-scarring ointment, two rolls of bandages and wound disinfectant." He says and I can't think of anyone who would need that, this never happened in the series.

"Don't worry Gaius; I don't need the anti-scarring ointment." I reassure him and he shakes his head.

"Nonsense! I'll make a fresh pot, it won't take five minutes." He says, turning to his pot and I'm kind of glad. I'd really hate to have a scar over the tiniest of things; I want it to means something if I ever do get any here.

Gaius is right in saying it only takes about five minutes to brew up a new batch and all to soon I have to say goodbye to Merlin and head back to boredville, population; me. I pocket this little vial of acid purple liquid that smells lovely for something made of wormwood, and head back to the throne room, taking two rights and a left.

I groan when I find myself faced with a brick wall. Fuck. My. Life. "Oh god, seriously!?" I shout to the universe and get no reply, much to my dismay. I think up another route and go from there, to no success.

It takes me an hour to get back to the throne room, and Agravaine is less than pleased.

"Reina, where've you been, it's been over an hour!" He says loudly when I finally burst through the throne room doors.

"I got lost." I say simply and he glowers at me.

"Well then draw yourself a map and get back on time!" He snaps and I shoot him a dirty look as Arthur comes up behind him.

"Reina, my dispatched men have caught your thieves, they have been trespassing and have thusly been sent back to Odinsland with a grave warning and the promise of war should they return. My knights will return within two days to return your recovered possession. I am sorry to say that only your necklace was found." He says and my eyes light up.

"Really! Oh my god! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaim and he looks surprised. I'm so happy to know that all I have left of my Father since coming here is not gone forever.

"I'm glad your pleased, now uncle, what will we do about the western borders, they are still under fire." He says and Agravaine looks away from met to his nephew. I slump back into my chair and almost start to doze off when I have an amazing idea of epic proportions.

"Can I leave?" I ask out of the blue and the two men look to me. Agravaine looks as though he can't believe I just said that and I yawn. "Please, I have so much cleaning to do it's not even funny." I beg and Agravaine closes his eyes in annoyance and takes a deep breath.

"If you give me your solemn promise that you won't say anything for the rest of today, you may leave." He says and I nod, not speaking. I stand up and before he can say anything else, I bolt out the door, running down the hallway as fast as I can, leaving a bewildered Agravaine and Arthur in my wake.

I take the stairs three at a time, looking like a ballerina with impaired motor skills. I rush down the hall and facepalm when I pass Agravaine's door I'm moving so fast, getting a funny look from the maid that's sweeping the floor.

I open the door and step in, glad to finally be out of that meeting. Although I'd probably only spent an hour in there before it was interrupted by Merlin, and about five minutes afterwards, it felt like forever, and even making a bed is more fun… that's it, I'm mad.

I pull the sheets up and over the pillows fluffing them up as I do so, reaching for the red blanket when I'm done, doing the same as the sheets and smoothing out all the wrinkles. I my ribbon out of my sleeve when my hair falls in my eyes as I took it out while Merlin was taking me to Gaius and I cuss when I accidentally drop it.

I get down on my knees beside the bed to pick it up, when the corner of something glass juts out from underneath the covers. I lift the fabric up and reach my hand down, I gasp when it makes contact with something clod and hard. I grab onto it and lift it to eye level, gasping again and reaching into my pocket.

I pull out my bottle of anti-scarring ointment and hold it near the empty one I have in my hand, finding the shape to be the same. Gaius is pretty consistent when it comes to bottle shape, as labels aren't invented yet, and it's weird that some should go missing when I find empty bottles hidden under Agravaine's bed.

"What else are you hiding?" I ask myself, getting down on my stomach, flattening out and hoisting the blankets up and out of the way so I can see. I reach my hand in again and I pull something else out; three skinny vials that no doubt once held pain reliever, another search provides me with four empty jars of wound disinfectant and three rolls of bandages.

I sit back on my heels, scarcely believing what I'm seeing. _Why would Agravaine want to steal medical supplies? _I ask myself and I don'tknow the answer to that. _Whenever someone's hurt, all they have to do is go to Gaius, and the king pays him, he never charges for his remedies and if Agravaine was wounded, he'd just go and see him. _I rationalize in my mind, thinking about it for a second. _Unless he didn't want anyone to know he was hurt! _I almost scream Eureka, that's it! How he could get hurt enough to need this much medical supplies is beyond me, but it's recent, otherwise he probably would've gotten rid of it by now.

But who could be hurting him? I doubt it's self-harm, it doesn't seem him style, he's say something if he got injured on a hunting trip, and he doesn't seem violent enough to start fights. "But he's constantly sneaking out to someone who is!" I say, out loud this time. "Oh my god, Morgana, of course!" So little is known about Agravaine, and the series is not the same as it is here, there's every chance that she's been doing this since he came here.

Even I can admit that Agravaine is a bit of a screw-up when it comes to making sure someone that needs to be dead to advance his evil scheme's is or just generally getting a job done, and it's always seemed weird that Morgana, mistress of all fucking evil would just brush it off with a weird smile that made her look like she was struggling to breathe and a heated stare.

I'm just sad I didn't notice this before, no wonder he seemed depressed yesterday, she probably beat the shit out of him! Of course, it seemed like she was more of an open-wound kind of girl instead of the standard black eye, and she's obviously careful enough to make that they're not on any visible skin.

"The poor guy. And that bitch! She's dead fucking meat is she shows her face around here." I hiss quietly and I shove the bottles and empty rolls under the bed and stand up, pulling the covers down.

It seems that I'm not a moment too soon as I hear footsteps approaching just as I place my hands on the covers to make it look like I was smoothing them the whole time and it seems as though I was never under his bed when Agravaine finally walks in.

He sighs and throws his coat over the chair and I nod to him as he sits down with a huff. "Reina, wonderful to see you, I regret to inform you that I won't be going to dinner tonight, so if you'll kindly bring me something when the time comes I'd be most grateful." He says and I nod. I have this newfound sympathy for him, and decide against being snarky.

"Sure thing, and with my directional skills, I'll end up there by dinner if I just leave now, have a rest, you look tied." I tell him on my way out and he waves a dismissive hand. I shut the door behind me and set off for the dining room. I'd been there once before and I'll be damned if I can't find my way smoothly.

I end up at the doors a half an hour later and I bow to Arthur, who sits in his chair. He stands when he realizes Agravaine's not there and it's up to me to calm him down.

"Where is Agravaine?" he asks.

"He's tired, he sent me to get him some food." I say, hopping up the steps and grabbing a plate, looking at all the delicious stuff laid out on the table hungrily. "What's his favourite my lord, he seems kind of sad." I ask and he points to the chicken pot pie. I didn't know that they had that here, but it makes sense as they have the basic elements of it and a cook with too much time on her hands.

I load up the plate and turn to leave, stopping to grab a glass and fill it with wine, as I know he'll just love that and I set off again when Merlin stops me.

"Reina, since you won't be spending all night with lord Agravaine, would you consider having dinner with me and Gaius? I'd really love a change of company." He asks hopefully and I nod.

"I'll see what I can do, but I promise nothing, Agravaine isn't one to allow others to have fun." I warn and he nods. I tell him goodbye and I set off for Agravaine's room, moving as fast as I can, hoping I can get his permission.


	8. Chapter 8: Dinner

**_Chapter Eight: Dinner _**

I walk slowly so I won't spill anything on the way upstairs, and during this time, I let my thoughts run wild.

I don't know why I feel bad for Agravaine; maybe it's because I know what it's like to be bullied by someone who should be your friend. Aunt Deidre was never a physical bully, but her verbal abuse could tear me apart, as for my boss, I really don't know what it's like to be physically harassed, but if it's anything like verbal, he must be going through a lot.

I know in my heart of hearts that Agravaine is a bad guy. He's plotting against Arthur and trying to have him killed, which is evil in all aspects, but I just can't help but pity him. It's like he's the lowest of the low and nobody cares about him, but he thinks that he's the master of awesome and the whole world will cry for him if he gets a scratch. It's truly sad and sadly true. I really don't know what his problem is, Uther didn't directly kill Ygraine, he didn't mean to anyway, it's like with Mother, she sent Father to work, if I were a more passive-aggressive person, I would've said she killed him.

I pick up the pace a little, thoughts like these make my head spin and I have no desire to think them, instead, I focus on how I'll probably be going shopping tomorrow. Gwen most likely won't allow me to borrow another dress and although I hadn't got my pay check yet, debt was allowed here.

I'm so engrossed in my thoughts that I don't even notice how far I've come until I almost bump into Agravaine's door. I step back a little and manage to use my head to break open the door. Obviously, Agravaine has crappy hearing because as soon I walk in, the first thing I see is him, shirtless with his torso all bandaged up with blood stains showing through and chugging a vial of pain killer. I know that it's probably more embarrassing for him then me, and he probably doesn't want anybody to know about his little Morgana problem, so I quickly set his food down on the table and cover my face.

"MY EYES!" I scream in mock agony, turning around and collapsing onto the ground, twitching like I'm having a seizure, giving him enough time to put his shirt back on. I shudder and grow silent, letting my body go limp as he rolls his eyes.

"It seems as though the phrase 'drama queen', suits you quite well after all." He says and I sit up, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"Never let me see you like that again. Ever, please, I'm begging." I plead and he smirks a bit.

"I'll make you a deal, you make sure Gwaine never shows his face here again, and I'll keep my shirt on, alright?" he asks and I frown a bit.

"I already told you that you'd never see him here again." I reply and he shakes his head.

"The boy came looking or you." He states and I groan, lying back down.

"Fuck my life." I whisper under his breath and a genuine smile lights up his face instead of his signature smirk.

"Indeed, now what've you brought me?" he asks sitting down in his chair as I sit up.

"A little red bird in a crown told me your favourites, so I dished up some of that for you, and I caved." I say and he looks at me in confusion. "Ugh, I'll never forgive myself… check your glass." I tell him and he does so, his eyes widen and he looks to me in fake shock.

"How generous." He says and I scoff.

"Maybe, but you're an alcoholic." I say in a sing song voice, moving around him and he turns around, glaring at me.

"I am not!" He says defensively and I shrug.

"Innocent until proven guilty, but if I find you at the tavern I'll raise hell." I inform him.

"And what will you be doing at the tavern?" He asks and I give him a dirty look.

"Simple, drinking my face off like there's no tomorrow." I reply and he sighs, turning to his food.

I hesitate to ask him, but I see that it's getting late so I decide to just jump into things.

"My lord?" I ask and he looks up. "Merlin invited me to have dinner with him and Gaius… since you're pretty much going to stay here, is it okay if I go?" I ask and he seems reluctant. "Please, just this once it means so much to me!" I exclaim and it's true, Merlin's a lovely man and I adore spending time with him, even if it's only been two days.

"Well, I see no reason why you can't, but I don't care how late you stay out, I want you here at the same time as always." He says. After I get over my initial shock at the fact he's letting me go, my eyes light up.

"Yes, yes, yes! THANK YOU!" I yell, jumping around like a nut. "Why the hell am I still here?" I ask to no one, bolting out of the door and down the hall, running as fast as my legs can carry me to Gaius's office.

"You came!" are the first words out of Merlin when I burst through the door. I ran all the way here, not stopping once to catch my breath and my lungs are aching like crazy.

"Breathing first… talking second." I say, holding up my hand and taking a deep breath. "Okay, ready now, yes, I wouldn't miss it for the world, although Agravaine wasn't keen on it, I promised some things I'll never keep and bob's your uncle, here I am." I say and a smile lights up his face. Gaius appears behind him and he looks pleased to see me.

"Ah, Reina, so glad you could make it, come in." he says and I follow Merlin's lead to the table. Gaius takes with him a large, cast-iron pot and a ladle while Merlin grabs the bowls and spoons, telling me not to move a muscle. When everyone is seated, Gaius dishes out dinner.

It smells lovely and he tells me its vegetable stew, and I have to admit that for an old man, he can cook really, really well.

"So, what family do you have?" Gaius asks, trying to make polite conversation and I shrug.

"Well, I had a Mother and Father, as well as an Uncle Harris and Aunt Deidre that only just moved out a month ago." I respond and he nods.

"What are they like?" He asks.

"Well, I love my Uncle Harris, it's Aunt Deidre whom I want to stab in the face with a kitchen knife." I begin. "My uncle cried on the dining room table for three weeks after she refused to marry him, and when she finally caved and did so, she filed for divorce about a week later. Next thing I know, the man moves in. One morning, I'm eating breakfast and he walks in with an empty bottle of brandy, he yelled at the tea kettle for about six minutes, accused me of sabotaging it, and sent me to my room for trying to mess with his mind." I say and Merlin snorts. I glare at him and he falls silent.

"Sorry, just slipped out." He apologizes and I sigh.

"Then, when he finally begs her to take him back, she moves in too!" I exclaim and Gaius's eyes widen. "Finally, finally, we're rid of them after almost two years of suffering, and then…" I trail off. It's been almost three weeks since it happened and I still can't bring myself to say it.

Merlin sits forward, curiosity in his lovely blue eyes. "And then what?" He asks and I look to my food, taking another bite and Gaius intervenes.

"That's not important, Merlin. Reina, what other topic do you wish to discuss?" Gaius asks gently and I look up to the elderly gentleman.

"How was your day?" I ask and the man gives me a gentle smile.

"The cook required a very strong anti-sleeping draught, needless to say, it is highly caffeinated." He says with a knowing smile and my eyes widen. I shake with supressed laughter as I think of the grouchy, tired cook awake and alert.

"I can't wait until tomorrow; I absolutely have to see that!" I exclaim and Merlin grins. I turn to him, and something happens.

I don't know if it was this hot in here before, but my temperature increases by 20 degrees and the lights from the candles blur and dance a little bit. I get this strange, buzzing sense like Merlin and myself are the only two people in the world and Gaius isn't even in the room. I can't help but stare at him as he continues talking. I don't even hear him, I'm so focused on his eyes, his face, his nose, everything about him, until, it stops, just as quickly as it came.

I shake myself out of it and wonder what the hell just happened. It was uber-weird, I can tell you that, and I certainly hope it doesn't happen again, ever. I ask what Merlin was talking about before my 'hot flash' as I've decided in my mind that it was only that, and he begins to recount a very interesting story about the city milk man.

"I was walking down the street, just... minding my own business…" Merlin begins and Gaius turns to him sharply.

"Oh, don't lie Merlin!" The old man says and Merlin scowls at him.

"Alright then, I wasn't exactly minding my business, I was delivering some of this man's concoctions and I bumped into him." Merlin confesses and I lean forward.

"What happened?" I ask and he thinks for a moment.

"Well, I ended up spilling his milk, next thing you know, about twenty cats come running out of nowhere and their just all over the streets!" He exclaims and a hand files to my mouth.

"You're joking." I say and he shakes his head.

"No, I'm serious, and then the man turns to me and hands me the bill for all of it!" The warlock replies and I shake my head.

"Sucks to be you, friend." I say simply, and he nods.

"My sentiments exactly!" He says and I shake my head, looking out the low window.

It's getting late so I excuse myself, rushing back to the servant's quarters. I can already feel exhaustion taking its hold on me as I open the door, stagger into the room, fall onto the bed and instantly fall into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.


End file.
